Monday, April 25, 2016

Here's what's happening at Boswell this week. This is pretty much our email newsletter minus the recommendations,, but with a little bonus content. Note: tickets for Felicia Day close out at 3 pm, or when we're out of tickets. There are no walk up ticket sales available for this event.

As always, we've got some exciting events planned for you. First up is a last-minute reminder that Felicia Day's ticketed signing is tonight. Tickets are $17 and are available at Brown Paper Tickets until 3 pm. Alas, it looks like walk-up tickets will not be available at this event. Also please note that Boswell will be closed to the general public at 5:30 pm tonight, in order to best accommodate this event. And finally, please note that you must buy a ticket to the event for entry. Ms. Day will personalize books upon request, and will sign one piece of memorabilia, a rare treat.

Felicia Day is a professional actress who has appeared in numerous mainstream television shows and films, currently recurring on the CW show Supernatural, and recently completing a two-season arc on the SyFy series Eureka. However, Felicia is best known for her work in the web video world, behind and in front of the camera. She co-starred in Joss Whedon’s Internet musical Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog. She also created and stars in the hit web series The Guild, which is currently in its sixth season. Her production company Knights of Good produced the innovative web series “Dragon Age” in conjunction with EA/Bioware in 2011 and in 2012 she launched a funded YouTube channel called Geek & Sundry. Felicia continues to work as creative chief officer with her company, as well as develop television and web projects for her to write, produce and star in. Bonus video below -- a travel site, a game recommendation, playing the theremin.

Please join us for an evening with honorary doctorate from Marian University, Elizabeth Nunez, author of Even in Paradise, a modern-day King Lear and novel of greed, resentment, jealousy, betrayal, and romance set in Trinidad, Jamaica, and Barbados. Beautifully written in elegant prose, Nunez weaves themes of racism and classism into the postcolonial world of the Caribbean, giving us a diverse cast of characters of African, Indian, Chinese, Syrian/Lebanese, and English ancestry.

Peter Ducksworth, a Trinidadian widower of English ancestry, retires to Barbados, believing he will find an earthly paradise there. He decides to divide his land among his three daughters while he is alive, his intention not unlike that of King Lear’s who hoped, “That future strife / May be prevented now.” But Lear made the fatal mistake of confusing flattery with love, and so does Ducksworth. Feeling snubbed by his youngest daughter, Ducksworth decides that only after he dies will she receive her portion of the land. In the meantime, he gives his two older daughters their portions, ironically setting in motion the very strife he hoped to prevent.

“Even in Paradise is Caribbean drama as grand epic. Nunez, always a master of unexpected contrasts, does it here again. A story told on a huge scale that still manages to be achingly personal and intimate.” —Marlon James, author of A Brief History of Seven Killings

Elizabeth Nunez is the award-winning author of eight novels and a memoir. Both Boundaries and Anna In-Between were New York Times Editors’ Choices. Anna In-Between won the 2010 PEN Oakland/Josephine Miles Award and was longlisted for the International IMPAC Dublin Literary Award.

Milwaukee Reads presents Elizabeth Berg at The Lynden Sculpture Garden, 2145 W Brown Deer Rd. Tickets are $22 ($18 for Lynden members) and include a paperback copy of The Dream Lover, wine, and light refreshments provided by MKE Localicious. The event is cosponsored by Bronze Optical.

George Sand was a 19th-century French novelist known not only for her novels but even more for her scandalous behavior. After leaving her estranged husband, Sand moved to Paris where she wrote, wore men's clothing, smoked cigars, and had love affairs with famous men and at least one actress. This is Berg's first historical novel, which makes it particularly great for book clubs, as you can draw on both Sands's novels and the historical period in which the book is set.

Emily Rapp Black wrote of The Dream Lover in The Boston Globe: "The most fascinating aspect of Sand’s life is that she created her own rules to live by, no matter the personal cost, and Berg brings these conflicts to light brilliantly, almost effortlessly. The book, imagistic and perfectly paced, full of dialogue that clips along, is a reader’s dream." Join us at the Lynden on Thursday, April 28, 7 pm reception, 7:30 talk. You can also reserve your spot by calling (414) 446-8794.

Please join us for an event with Eric Dregni, author of Let's Go Fishing!: Fish Tales from the North Woods, an illustrated compendium of the lore and legacy of fishing in the northland. Dregni, who has entertained countless readers with enlightening tales of Midwest marvels, here shows his considerable skills as a raconteur and cultural historian of the fun and the facts of fishing in the Great Lakes region.

Fishing contests and taxidermy, lures and earthworms, fishing scenes on beer cans, and the peculiar genre of fishing photographs: no detail is too small, reflection too deep, or bridge too far to escape his eye and ready wit, from gear madness to true grit, angling heroics to solitary pleasures, small-town festivals to sport-fishing meccas. And he has the images to prove it, which will be featured in his slide presentation. Let's Go Fishing is an always fascinating, occasionally hilarious, and often oddly informative compendium of fishing lore destined to reel in the uninitiated and to occupy the aficionado in those long, empty hours between seasons.

At 10 am, we're open for business, selling limited edition items like an Anne Patchett essay, a Fran Lebowitz stencil, a new set of literary tea towels (a big hit in 2015!), and very limited number of special Curious George plush monkeys. There are no holds, and no phone or web orders. There is also a limit of only one of each item per customer, at least through noon. More about the items available here.

At 11 am, we're featuring a kids concert with Fox and Branch, the popular folk duo. And then at 2 pm we'll have our second annual Boswell literary trivia contest. You can win a $50 Boswell gift card and yes, there will be several other prizes. Please note that Boswell will close to the general public at 5:30 on Saturday, due to our ticketed event with Sally Mann.

Saturday, April 30, 7 pm, at Boswell:
A ticketed event with Sally Mann, author of Hold Still.
Presentation followed by conversation with Liam Callanan, author of Listen and Other Stories.

Join us at Boswell for a ticketed event with photographer Sally Mann, giving a presentation on, discussing, and signing copies of what was considered one of the best books of 2015. Hold Still is a revealing and beautifully written memoir and family history from a beloved and acclaimed photographer. Tickets are $20 including all taxes and fees, and includes admission for one to the event and a copy of the paperback. Our event will feature a slide presentation, followed by a conversation with Liam Callanan.

In this groundbreaking book, a unique interplay of narrative and image, Mann’s preoccupation with family, race, mortality, and the storied landscape of the American South are revealed as almost genetically predetermined, written into her DNA by the family history that precedes her. A National Book Award finalist, Hold Still was named one of the Best books of the year by The New York Times, The Washington Post, The San Francisco Chronicle, Vogue, and NPR.

Please note, Boswell will close to the general public at 5:30 pm on April 30. And we ask for no photography or video at this event.

We're so excited to be hosting Jane Hamilton for her first novel since 2009. Critics are raving about this book. Jim Higgins of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes: "The Excellent Lombards, her new novel, is both a lively coming-of-age story and a deeply felt portrait of an endangered species, the American farm family. The Excellent Lombards could be read and taught in both an eighth-grade classroom and a small-business course - the latter because it grapples with agonizing issues of partnership and succession."

Here's what Boswellian Sharon Nagel had to say about The Excellent Lombards: "Jane Hamilton's latest novel is about Mary Frances Lombard, a young girl growing up on her family's orchard in rural Wisconsin. There is family tension, love, and lots and lots of apples. Mary Frances thinks it is perfect, but perhaps that is because it is all she knows. She just assumes that she and her brother William will grow up and take over ownership of the orchard, while their parents want much more for their children than this challenging way of life. A charming coming-of-age story set comfortably in Wisconsin that will appeal to all readers."

Hamilton appeared at Boswell as part of our grand opening celebration for Laura Rider's Masterpiece. And now she's back, with a special introduction by longtime friend, arts educator and former bookseller Pegi Christiansen. Hope you'll join us in a cider toast on Sunday, May 1, at a special time of 1 pm.